A comparative study of myristic acid/bentonite and myristic acid/Eudragit L100 form stable phase change materials for thermal energy storage

• The properties of MA/bentonite and MA/EL100 FSPCMs have been studied comparatively.
• Two types of FSPCMs have good thermal reliability and reusability.
• Enthalpies of MA/bentonite are lower than that of MA/EL100 with the same MA wt%.
• The heat transfer rate of MA/bentonite is higher than that of MA/EL100.

In this work, the influence of type of supporting materials on the performance of form stable phase change materials (FSPCMs) was investigated. Two kinds of FSPCMs containing myristic acid (MA) were prepared using an inorganic material (bentonite) and a polymer (Eudragit L100) individually as the supporting material. The morphology, composition, crystalline properties, phase transition properties and heat storage/release performances of MA/bentonite FSPCMs (abbreviated as FSPCM-B) and MA/Eudragit L100 FSPCMs (abbreviated as FSPCM-E) were researched comparatively. The results show that the maximum MA content of FSPCM-B and FSPCM-E without melt MA leakage is 50 wt% and 70 wt%, respectively. All the prepared FSPCMs have good thermal reliability and reusability, and phase transition enthalpies of FSPCM-B are obviously lower than those of FSPCM-E with the same MA mass fraction. Due to the high thermal conductivity of bentonite, the heat transfer rate of FSPCM-B is exactly higher than that of FSPCM-E. This study will provide insights into the design and application of FSPCMs with inorganic matrix and polymeric matrix.